Higher Lessons in English - Alonzo Reed and Brainerd Kellogg (uplifting novels TXT) 📗

of pork. 4. It was a blue soft beautiful sky. 5. A fried dish of bacon. 6. We saw in the distance a precipitous, barren, towering mountain. 7. Two gray fiery little eyes. 8. A docile and mild pupil. 9. A pupil, docile and mild.

+Direction+.—_Write correct sentences illustrating every point in these two Cautions_.

Miscellaneous Errors.

+Direction+.—_Give the Cautions which these expressions violate, and correct the errors_:—

1. I can bear the heat of summer, but not cold of winter. 2. The North and South Pole. 3. The eldest son of a duke is called a marquis. 4. He had deceived me, and so I had a little faith in him. 5. An old and young man. 6. A prodigious snowball hit my cheek. 7. The evil is intolerable and not to be borne. 8. The fat, two lazy men. 9. His penmanship is fearful. 10. A white and red flag were flying. 11. His unusual, unexpected, and extraordinary success surprised him. 12. He wanted a apple, an hard apple. 13. A dried box of herrings. 14. He received a honor. 15. Such an use! 16. The day was delightful and warm. 17. Samuel Adams’s habits were unostentatious, frugal, and simple. 18. The victory was complete, though a few of the enemy were killed or captured. 19. The truth is mighty and will prevail. 20. The scepter, the miter, and coronet seem to me poor things for great men to contend for. 21. A few can swim across the Straits of Dover, for the width is great and the current strong. 22. I have a contemptible opinion of you. 23. She has less friends than I.

LESSON 92.

CLASSES OF VERBS AND ADVERBS.

+Introductory Hints+.—You learned in Lesson 28 that in saying Washington captured we do not fully express the act performed. Adding Cornwallis, we complete the predicate by naming the one that receives the act that passes over from the doer. Transitive means passing over, and so all verbs that represent an act as passing over from a doer to a receiver are called +Transitive Verbs+. If we say Cornwallis was captured by Washington, the verb is still transitive; but the object, Cornwallis, which names the receiver, is here the subject of the sentence, and not, as before, the object complement. You see that the object, the word that names the receiver of the act, may be the subject, or it may be the object complement.

All verbs that, like fall in Leaves fall, do not represent the act as passing over to a receiver, and all that express mere being or state of being are called +Intransitive Verbs+.

A verb transitive in one sentence; as, He writes good English, may be intransitive in another; as, He writes well—meaning simply He is a good writer. A verb is transitive only when an object is expressed or obviously understood.

Washington captured Cornwallis. Here captured represents the act as having taken place in past time. Tense means time, and hence this verb is in the past tense. Cornwallis captured, the war speedily closed. Here captured is, as you have learned, a participle; and, representing the act as past at the time indicated by closed, it is a past participle. Notice that ed is added to capture (final e is always dropped when ed is added) to form its past tense and its past participle. All verbs that form the past tense and the past participle by adding ed to the present are called +Regular Verbs+.

All verbs that do not form the past tense and the past participle by adding ed to the present; as, fall, fell, fallen; go, went, gone, are called +Irregular Verbs+.

 

Early, hereafter, now, often, soon, presently, etc., used to modify any verb—as, will go in, I will go soon—by expressing time, are called +Adverbs of Time+.

Away, back, elsewhere, hence, out, within, etc., used to modify any verb—as, will go in, I will go away—by expressing direction or place, are called +Adverbs of Place+.

Exceedingly, hardly, quite, sufficiently, too, very, etc., used to modify a word—as the adjective hot in, The tea is very hot—by expressing degree, are called +Adverbs of Degree+.

Plainly, so, thus, well, not, [Footnote: It may be worth remarking that while there are many negative nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and conjunctions in oar language, negation is more frequently expressed in English by the adverb than by any other part of speech—than by all other parts of speech. A very large per cent of these adverbs modify the verb. That is to say, it is largely through the adverb that what the predicate expresses is declared not to be true of the thing named by the subject. It is very suggestive that much of what is said consists of denial—is taken up in telling not what is true of things but what is not true of them.

“The negative particle in our language is simply the consonant +n+. In Saxon it existed as a word +ne+; but we have lost that word, and it is now a letter only, which, enters into many words, as into no, not, nought, none, neither, nor, never.”—_Earle_.

No and yes (_nay_ and yea), when used to answer Questions, show how the thought presented is regarded, and may therefore be classed with adverbs of manner. They are sometimes called independent adverbs. They seem to modify words omitted in the answer but contained in the question; as, Did you see him? No = I did no (not) see him; Will you go? Yes. The force of yes may be illustrated by substituting certainly—Will you go? Certainly. Certainly I will go, or I will certainly go. As no and yes represent or suggest complete answers, they may be called +sentence-words+.] etc., used to modify a word—as, spoke in, He spoke plainly—by expressing manner, are called +Adverbs of Manner+.

Hence, therefore, why, etc., used in making an inference or in expressing cause—as, It is dark, hence, or therefore, the sun is down; Why is it dark?—are called +Adverbs of Cause+.

Some adverbs fall into more than one class; as, so and as.

Some adverbs, as you have learned, connect clauses, and are therefore called +Conjunctive Adverbs+.

 

DEFINITIONS.

+A Verb is a word that asserts action, being, or state of being+.

CLASSES OF VERBS WITH RESPECT TO MEANING.

+A Transitive Verb is one that requires an object+. [Footnote: The +object+ of a transitive verb, that is, the name of the receiver of the action, may be the +object complement+, or it may be the +subject+; as, Brutus stabbed Caesar; Caesar was stabbed by Brutus. See page 187.]

+An Intransitive Verb is one that does not require an object+.

CLASSES OF VERBS WITH RESPECT TO FORM.

+A Regular Verb is one that forms its past tense and past participle by adding ed to the present+.

+An Irregular Verb is one that does not form its past tense and past participle by adding ed to the present+.

 

+An Adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. [Footnote: Adverbs have several exceptional uses. They may be used independently; as, Now, there must be an error here. They may modify a phrase or a preposition; as, He came just in time; It went far beyond the mark. They may modify a clause or a sentence; as, He let go simply because he was exhausted; Certainly you may go.

It may also be noted here that adverbs are used interrogatively; as, How, when, and where is this to be done? and that they may add to the office of the adverb that of the conjunction; as, I go where I am sent.]

CLASSES OF ADVERBS.

+_Adverbs of Time_ are those that generally answer the question+, When?

+_Adverbs of Place_ are those that generally answer the question+, Where?

+_Adverbs of Degree_ are those that generally answer the question+, To what extent?

+_Adverbs of Manner_ are those that generally answer the question+, In what way?

+_Adverbs of Cause_ are those that generally answer the question+, Why?

+Direction+.—_Point out the transitive and the intransitive, the regular and the irregular verbs in Lesson_ 14, and classify the adverbs.

 

*

 

LESSON 93.

CONSTRUCTION OF ADVERBS.

+Caution+.—Choose apt adverbs, but do not use them needlessly or instead of other forms of expression; avoid such as repeat the idea or exaggerate it.

+Examples+.—I could ill (not illy) afford the time. Do as (not like) I do. A diphthong is the union of two vowels (not where or when two vowels unite) in the same syllable. This (not this here or this ‘ere) sentence is correct. He wrote that (not how that) he had been sick. The belief in immortality is universally held (not universally held everywhere). His nose was very (not terribly or frightfully) red,

+Direction+.—_Study the Caution and the Examples, and correct these errors_.—

1. I returned back here yesterday. 2. He had not hardly a minute to spare. 3. The affair was settled amicably, peaceably, and peacefully. 4. It was awfully amusing. 5. This ‘ere knife is dull. 6. That ‘ere horse has the heaves. 7. A direct quotation is when the exact words of another are copied. 8. I do not like too much sugar in my tea. 9. He seldom or ever went home sober. 10. The belief in immortality is universally held by all. 11. I am dreadfully glad to hear that. 12. This is a fearfully long lesson. 13. He said how that he would go.

+Caution+.—So place adverbs that there can be no doubt as to what you intend them to modify. Have regard to the sound also. They seldom stand between to and the infinitive. [Footnote: Instances of the “cleft, or split, infinitive”—the infinitive separated from its to by an intervening adverb—are found in Early English and in English all the way down, Fitzedward Hall and others have shown this.

But there can be no question that usage is overwhelmingly against an adverb’s standing between to and the infinitive. Few writers ever place an adverb there at all; and these few, only an occasional adverb, and that adverb only occasionally.

Whether the adverb should be placed before the to or after the infinitive is often a nice question, sometimes to be determined by the ear alone. It should never stand, however, where it would leave the meaning ambiguous or in any way obscure.]

+Examples+.—I only rowed across the river = I only (= alone, an adjective), and no one else, rowed etc., or = I only rowed etc., +but+ did not swim or wade. I rowed only across the river = across, not up or down etc. I rowed across the river only = the river only, not the bay etc. Merely to see (not to merely see) her was sufficient. Not every collegian is a scholar (not Every collegian is not a scholar).

+Direction+.—_Study the Caution and the Examples, and correct these errors_:—

1. I have thought of marrying often. 2. We only eat three meals a day. 3. He hopes to rapidly recruit. 4. All is not gold that glitters. 5. He tries to distinctly speak. 6. He tries